Outline mode is a major mode similar to Text mode but intended for editing outlines. It allows you to make parts of the text temporarily invisible so that you can see just the overall structure of the outline. Type M-x outline-mode to turn on Outline mode in the current buffer.
When you enter Outline mode, Emacs calls with no arguments the value
of the variable text-mode-hook, if that value exists and is not
nil; then it does the same with the variable
outline-mode-hook.
When a line is invisible in outline mode, it does not appear on the screen. The screen appears exactly as if the invisible line were deleted, except that an ellipsis (three periods in a row) appears at the end of the previous visible line (only one ellipsis no matter how many invisible lines follow).
All editing commands treat the text of the invisible line as part of the previous visible line. For example, C-n moves onto the next visible line. Killing an entire visible line, including its terminating newline, really kills all the following invisible lines as well; yanking everything back yanks the invisible lines and they remain invisible.
| • Format: | What the text of an outline looks like. | |
| • Motion: | Special commands for moving through outlines. | |
| • Visibility: | Commands to control what is visible. |